1998 528i BMW ABS And T+ASC Lights On

[Young 23]

Hello everyone, I own a 1998 528i BMW with the M52 engine and am currently running into an interesting problem. My car began enacting ABS braking one day on dry pavement with no loss of traction, and after a few more times the ABS and T+ASC lights came on and stayed on whilst normal non-ABS braking followed. It lasted like this for a while, and upon suddenly noticing drops on my mph display while driving, I changed the rear drivers side abs speed sensor with a new one. That issue was resolved but the two lights remain on and occasionally turn off when going through the car wash or during rainy days, but come back on later on. Lately they remain off for days at a time, but when the car begins to enact abs braking under normal driving conditions, the lights come back on and normal non-Abs braking again follows. Any idea what may cause this? Also worth noting that my car has experienced heavy screeching from the brakes (possibly front right or both front sides) on at least two occasions while driving and with many weeks in between. I have not yet figured out what has caused this screeching on these two separate incidents, but maybe they may dictate something. If anyone has any ideas or advice, I’d appreciate it. I don’t have much money to have it diagnosed, so any info would be great before having to result in doing that. Thanks! (All rotors are new, brake pads in good shape, and all wheel sensors are original 98 dated except for the rear drivers side which was replaced with a German-Bosch sensor)

[shogun]

moved to E39 forum from general 5 series forum

[edjack]

Your ABS module is behind the front passenger carpet. Has it gotten wet there? If so, this may be the problem.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

A million and a half, and a crapload more threads on all this..... and yet the broken record keeps on going round and round.....

[mattmar1]

do you have or can you get your hands on a BMW specific code scanner to read the ABS codes?

[Young 23]

I’ll have to check it. Would there be any reason for it to get wet? Any particular point of entrance?

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Lmao are you saying that this has already been resolved more or less?

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I do not have one and I do not know anyone who has one or works specifically on BMW’s. Is there any good affordable ones I could get myself?

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Isn’t that website for 7 series?

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Like I said, a million and a half , and a crapload more of threads on all this, yet you feel that you are special.
How about you start with replacing the other three sensors since you claim that they are dated from ‘98, obviously they are way beyond due. Think cracked rubber, exposed wire, black copper cancer, resistance, traction control system getting erratic signals, ABS module reacting badly due to bad intel... Proper cleaning of the wheel speed sensor wells probably wouldn’t hurt, have you checked your brake sensor wires? Probably not, since it seems that you are relying on some shop to let you know, or one of us on here to spit out our opinions, but these are all typical of neglected trifecta issues that all these cars are absurdly famous for. There are a million threads on all this. Get a good code reader, stay on top of all the typical E39’s issues, and not get raped by the stupid shops. Learn to handle all this stuff yourself. Good luck.

[Aubergine]

I’ll have to check it. Would there be any reason for it to get wet? Any particular point of entrance?

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Lmao are you saying that this has already been resolved more or less?

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I do not have one and I do not know anyone who has one or works specifically on BMW’s. Is there any good affordable ones I could get myself?

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Isn’t that website for 7 series?

OP, I would recommend the Foxwell NT510. I successfully used it to read live data from my wheels speed sensors by jacking it one axle at a time and having my friend spin the wheels by hand. I was having similar issues and ended up replacing one front and one rear sensor. The scan tool is available on Amazon for about the price on 60-90 minutes of work at any euro repair shop.

Like I said, a million and a half , and a crapload more of threads on all this, yet you feel that you are special.
How about you start with replacing the other three sensors since you claim that they are dated from ‘98, obviously they are way beyond due. Think cracked rubber, exposed wire, black copper cancer, resistance, traction control system getting erratic signals, ABS module reacting badly due to bad intel... Proper cleaning of the wheel speed sensor wells probably wouldn’t hurt, have you checked your brake sensor wires? Probably not, since it seems that you are relying on some shop to let you know, or one of us on here to spit out our opinions, but these are all typical of neglected trifecta issues that all these cars are absurdly famous for. There are a million threads on all this. Get a good code reader, stay on top of all the typical E39’s issues, and not get raped by the stupid shops. Learn to handle all this stuff yourself. Good luck.

I agree with you BimmrMeUpSnotty, but the OP has a low post count and in his defense, the ASC+T systems do not have as much info written about them as the DSC system that most of these US E39s came with. It took me a bit of reading to build a solid trouble shooting method for my issues. As an aside, I have yet to see an ASC+T car with a trifecta, the one I have seen only get an ASC and ABS light when there is an error in the system.

[jclausen]

I would get faults and after dx replace that parts that are needed. In my long history with cars and shops, we don't replace many wheel speed sensors and when we do we replace the one the on that is faulty. Most of the time you first swap the positions of the suspect sensor to see if the fault follows the move or not. If it follows the move great put a sensor in if it does not there is some thing else going on. When the dsc module faults it can show a fault for right rear wheel speed sensor along with other faults because that's what it defaults to, but when you swap the positions the fault still returns to right rear

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

I agree with you BimmrMeUpSnotty, but the OP has a low post count and in his defense, the ASC+T systems do not have as much info written about them as the DSC system that most of these US E39s came with. It took me a bit of reading to build a solid trouble shooting method for my issues. As an aside, I have yet to see an ASC+T car with a trifecta, the one I have seen only get an ASC and ABS light when there is an error in the system.

I hear you, but the op said all the sensors were original. At this age, I know that all the sensors are all boogered up. Start there, they’re due.

[Young 23]

Like I said, a million and a half , and a crapload more of threads on all this, yet you feel that you are special.
How about you start with replacing the other three sensors since you claim that they are dated from ‘98, obviously they are way beyond due. Think cracked rubber, exposed wire, black copper cancer, resistance, traction control system getting erratic signals, ABS module reacting badly due to bad intel... Proper cleaning of the wheel speed sensor wells probably wouldn’t hurt, have you checked your brake sensor wires? Probably not, since it seems that you are relying on some shop to let you know, or one of us on here to spit out our opinions, but these are all typical of neglected trifecta issues that all these cars are absurdly famous for. There are a million threads on all this. Get a good code reader, stay on top of all the typical E39’s issues, and not get raped by the stupid shops. Learn to handle all this stuff yourself. Good luck.

Actually, I do not depend on any shop to fix my car. The last time this particular car was in a shop was for a clutch job under the previous owner 2 years ago. I’ve done all the maintenance on the car since then, including a cylinder head and head gasket replacement after an unfortunate cycle of overheating incidents from all previous owners (along with many other things). This car has been neglected throughout the majority of its life since mostly all parts removed are 98 bmw parts. Unfortunate, yes, but it is what it is. Anyhow, I haven’t actually checked many threads on here for this issue, but from the few, along with videos and other info I’ve managed to obtain it’s always a trifecta light, which isn’t my case. The reason I ask is to solve my problem under my circumstances, so yea I do think I’m special lmao. Anyhow the exposed wires and debris buildup is definitely true, however I want to reach out to everyone here to get their opinions before I start throwing parts at it to no avail. But I will definitely get on replacing the rest of them. Thanks for the ‘tough’ love though. Appreciate all the advice.

[Young 23]

OP, I would recommend the Foxwell NT510. I successfully used it to read live data from my wheels speed sensors by jacking it one axle at a time and having my friend spin the wheels by hand. I was having similar issues and ended up replacing one front and one rear sensor. The scan tool is available on Amazon for about the price on 60-90 minutes of work at any euro repair shop.



I agree with you BimmrMeUpSnotty, but the OP has a low post count and in his defense, the ASC+T systems do not have as much info written about them as the DSC system that most of these US E39s came with. It took me a bit of reading to build a solid trouble shooting method for my issues. As an aside, I have yet to see an ASC+T car with a trifecta, the one I have seen only get an ASC and ABS light when there is an error in the system.

So this particular scanner is good for reading bmw info? But thanks! And your method of spinning the wheel with live data helped you determine a malfunctioning sensor by revising which sensor actually gave data and which didn’t? I’ll definitely look into the scan tool and the price however. I think it would be a good investment for the long term well being of the vehicle. Also thanks for the backup ha. I don’t know if he or she has the impression that I’m not aware of the various issues and common problems of my car, or whether or not I fix my car or just go to a shop to have everything done. I really only trust myself and other knowledgeable people like you guys on here. I’ve had the car for around two years but half of that time was spent with the car broken down as its cylinder head gave out early winter due to overheating from the previous owner. Having no garage extended the repair time more than I liked to, but now I’m trying to get my car in good shape. And cool! Glad to see I’m not the only one who noticed that. I appreciate the feedback!

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I hear you, but the op said all the sensors were original. At this age, I know that all the sensors are all boogered up. Start there, they’re due.

They all were new, I began by replacing one already. I will proceed to do the rest but I asked about the issue on here to see whether or not that could possibly resolve my issue and whether or not I have to prepare for something worse.

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I would get faults and after dx replace that parts that are needed. In my long history with cars and shops, we don't replace many wheel speed sensors and when we do we replace the one the on that is faulty. Most of the time you first swap the positions of the suspect sensor to see if the fault follows the move or not. If it follows the move great put a sensor in if it does not there is some thing else going on. When the dsc module faults it can show a fault for right rear wheel speed sensor along with other faults because that's what it defaults to, but when you swap the positions the fault still returns to right rear

I understand that, seems a bit inconvenient but I have to do what I have to do. I’m actually looking into getting a scan tool for this car in particular, such as the one mentioned above by another poster. I appreciate the advice and hopefully I’ll manage to do just that and get some good results. Thanks!

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Your ABS module is behind the front passenger carpet. Has it gotten wet there? If so, this may be the problem.

I just checked it and all is dry. I also checked the surrounding areas and all is dry fortunately. Any other possible suggestions? Would a module fail intermittently? Or would it fail once and never recover?

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do you have or can you get your hands on a BMW specific code scanner to read the ABS codes?

Any possible suggestions on which scanner would be good for this particular car?

[mattmar1]

the foxwell nt510, or its equivalent sold under the schwaben brand by ecs tuning. the INPA suite would also be a good one, it takes a laptop and the correct cable for it. another would be PASOFT aka BMW scanner 1.4, again a laptop and the correct cable is necessary. i have the last 2, pretty well covers what i do. i also have the creator 310, but with it ive found inaccuracies, loaned it ot a friend last year, havent seen it since, dont miss it. your ABS version has a low module failure rate vs the modules mounted under the hood above the exhaust manifold of the later models.
getting your hands on live data throughout the car is invaluable, and a decent scanner costs about the same as one diagnostic trip to the shop to have codes read (near me indies charge $150 to plug in) and getting the codes is another important issue. as ive no doubt youve found out, a generic scanner will only give you engine info, the rest of the proprietary systems on the car require a BMW specific scanner.

[Young 23]

the foxwell nt510, or its equivalent sold under the schwaben brand by ecs tuning. the INPA suite would also be a good one, it takes a laptop and the correct cable for it. another would be PASOFT aka BMW scanner 1.4, again a laptop and the correct cable is necessary. i have the last 2, pretty well covers what i do. i also have the creator 310, but with it ive found inaccuracies, loaned it ot a friend last year, havent seen it since, dont miss it. your ABS version has a low module failure rate vs the modules mounted under the hood above the exhaust manifold of the later models.
getting your hands on live data throughout the car is invaluable, and a decent scanner costs about the same as one diagnostic trip to the shop to have codes read (near me indies charge $150 to plug in) and getting the codes is another important issue. as ive no doubt youve found out, a generic scanner will only give you engine info, the rest of the proprietary systems on the car require a BMW specific scanner.

I am very glad for that honestly. I’ve heard about the modules cooking due to being right next to the exhaust manifold, so luckily I don’t have to worry about that and hopefully the module itself is not damaged. But that’s great! Great to see you mention the scanners that you use for your car with proven success since it means that I should be able to expect the same from it. I really appreciate you mentioning them! Would you happen to know if the wheel speed sensors only fail and throw a light or can they get dirty with debris and throw a light/code? My lights are intermittent but abs works once they turn off, but immediately turns on the lights right after it enacts it a few times. Seems peculiar. But thanks again!!!

[Aubergine]

I am very glad for that honestly. I’ve heard about the modules cooking due to being right next to the exhaust manifold, so luckily I don’t have to worry about that and hopefully the module itself is not damaged. But that’s great! Great to see you mention the scanners that you use for your car with proven success since it means that I should be able to expect the same from it. I really appreciate you mentioning them! Would you happen to know if the wheel speed sensors only fail and throw a light or can they get dirty with debris and throw a light/code? My lights are intermittent but abs works once they turn off, but immediately turns on the lights right after it enacts it a few times. Seems peculiar. But thanks again!!!

So the sensor behavior you are describing is exactly what I had when it was on the way out. Eventually the lights will be on all the time. These are very durable sensors but when they go...they are done. I would plan on buying replacement(s). Stay away from cheap Chinese ones or you'll be doing them again in a few months.

As far as code readers, pick one and start testing. Chances are it is a WSS (wheel speed sensor). Good luck and let us know what you find!

[mattmar1]

I am very glad for that honestly. I’ve heard about the modules cooking due to being right next to the exhaust manifold, so luckily I don’t have to worry about that and hopefully the module itself is not damaged. But that’s great! Great to see you mention the scanners that you use for your car with proven success since it means that I should be able to expect the same from it. I really appreciate you mentioning them! Would you happen to know if the wheel speed sensors only fail and throw a light or can they get dirty with debris and throw a light/code? My lights are intermittent but abs works once they turn off, but immediately turns on the lights right after it enacts it a few times. Seems peculiar. But thanks again!!!

WSS's can get gunked up/damaged, bearing tone rings the same, and set fault lites. i will say its most likely a WSS causing your problem. the best thing to do is to extract the code, then swap the sensor across the axle, lf and rf sensors are the same, lr and rr sensors are the same. reset the code then see if it follows the sensor or not. if it does, theres yer problem. if not, report it back here and well go on to the next step.

[Young 23]

So the sensor behavior you are describing is exactly what I had when it was on the way out. Eventually the lights will be on all the time. These are very durable sensors but when they go...they are done. I would plan on buying replacement(s). Stay away from cheap Chinese ones or you'll be doing them again in a few months.

As far as code readers, pick one and start testing. Chances are it is a WSS (wheel speed sensor). Good luck and let us know what you find!

Sounds good. Thank you so much! I really hope it’s just that since it’s not too expensive and relatively easy to replace. Grateful for the feedback. Thanks again! I’ll see what comes up.

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WSS's can get gunked up/damaged, bearing tone rings the same, and set fault lites. i will say its most likely a WSS causing your problem. the best thing to do is to extract the code, then swap the sensor across the axle, lf and rf sensors are the same, lr and rr sensors are the same. reset the code then see if it follows the sensor or not. if it does, theres yer problem. if not, report it back here and well go on to the next step.

Sounds like a plan. I’ll have to purchase a scanner first, but once I do and begin testing I’ll report back to show my findings. Appreciate the feedback! Really hoping that a sensor is all that’s wrong with it.

[Justinluck]

I am following this topic with interest. I have a very very similar issue with my car. I bought my car knowing that it had abs/tc issues. I placed it down to the speed sensors and that part I was very correct on. However, it does not stop their. After replacing all sensors, the TC keeps kicking at very low speeds, max 20kph. This car is still unknown to me as I have not had it long. Alas, I did notice the mileometer has been corrected/changed/falsified. Furthermore, my car being a manual, I did also notice the IKE has the display functions of an automatic but they never illuminate. This was clear and evident when testing the IKE via diagnostics. Everything lit up and err why does my manual car say/show automatic gear ranges. Now watching this post, I will in the mean time check my ABS ring on the bearing housing area, I will check the Diff box to make sure the ratio is correct (still not knowing what ratio it should be.) Then finally, can someone please point me in the right direction to check this ZEKO information. Again need to check to see if this IKE is in fact the correct one to this car and or if it has been coded correctly.

[mattmar1]

to both of the previous posts, you dont have any mismatched tires do you?

[Young 23]

I am following this topic with interest. I have a very very similar issue with my car. I bought my car knowing that it had abs/tc issues. I placed it down to the speed sensors and that part I was very correct on. However, it does not stop their. After replacing all sensors, the TC keeps kicking at very low speeds, max 20kph. This car is still unknown to me as I have not had it long. Alas, I did notice the mileometer has been corrected/changed/falsified. Furthermore, my car being a manual, I did also notice the IKE has the display functions of an automatic but they never illuminate. This was clear and evident when testing the IKE via diagnostics. Everything lit up and err why does my manual car say/show automatic gear ranges. Now watching this post, I will in the mean time check my ABS ring on the bearing housing area, I will check the Diff box to make sure the ratio is correct (still not knowing what ratio it should be.) Then finally, can someone please point me in the right direction to check this ZEKO information. Again need to check to see if this IKE is in fact the correct one to this car and or if it has been coded correctly.

That is very peculiar, but what exactly is the ABS ring? Is that what the speed sensor senses to determine wheel speeds? How can one determine whether or not that’s faulty? I’ve only heard about it once, but I’ve never understood what exactly it is or what causes it to go bad and how it can be replaced. The whole automatic thing is also really interesting, but what my car does is enact abs braking at random times, as if it’s interpreting incorrect wheel speeds. Tc kicks on rarely on a bump or something like that. But hopefully someone here can help you out!

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to both of the previous posts, you dont have any mismatched tires do you?

In regards to my car, if you’re asking about mine, my tires are relatively new and the same all around.

[mattmar1]

the tone ring is a surface on the wheel bearing that excites the hall effect wheel speed sensor. an excessive buildup on the ring (gunked up) can cause ABS/stability control problems, or a physical defect to the ring will as well. ive seen a few rings where the owner had a stuck WSS, drilled it out of the housing and knicked the ring in the process. cleaning the ring can be accomplished by removing the WSS, and using a few q tips with a mild solvent thru the WSS mount hole while rotating the wheel. gunked up WSS can cause the same thing.

[Young 23]

the tone ring is a surface on the wheel bearing that excites the hall effect wheel speed sensor. an excessive buildup on the ring (gunked up) can cause ABS/stability control problems, or a physical defect to the ring will as well. ive seen a few rings where the owner had a stuck WSS, drilled it out of the housing and knicked the ring in the process. cleaning the ring can be accomplished by removing the WSS, and using a few q tips with a mild solvent thru the WSS mount hole while rotating the wheel. gunked up WSS can cause the same thing.

Really? I had no idea about this when I changed the first wss, otherwise I would have cleaned it out while I was at it. Would brake cleaner or water work as well? Or what kind of solvent should I use? Would replacing a wheel bearing also replace the tone bearing? But interesting now I know what else could possibly be causing my car to have these issues. Definitely something I’m going to do on the rest when I change them. Thanks for taking the time to enlighten me on this issue 👌

[mattmar1]

the tone ring is an integral part of the bearing assembly, not a separate replaceable part. whole bearing assembly or nothing. alcohol or brake cleaner saturated on to the q tips would work ok, keep at it til the q tips end up kinda clean. no point in really going any further than cleaning til you get a scanner though. the WSS's can be read out with a decent DMM, however as your error is intermittent i wouldnt hold out a lot of hope that doing so would tell you much.

[Young 23]

the tone ring is an integral part of the bearing assembly, not a separate replaceable part. whole bearing assembly or nothing. alcohol or brake cleaner saturated on to the q tips would work ok, keep at it til the q tips end up kinda clean. no point in really going any further than cleaning til you get a scanner though. the WSS's can be read out with a decent DMM, however as your error is intermittent i wouldnt hold out a lot of hope that doing so would tell you much.

Interesting. My wheel bearings do need replacing as I do hear a humming or growling noice from the back of the car as I drive at higher speeds. So it’s good to hear that once they're replaced the issue of having a defective abs ring should be very unlikely, but of course that is something for the future. But that is true, the lights have not turned back since last week and Traction control can be turned off and on normally. I am a bit confused, but yea at the moment I guess I may not necessarily be able to get any data. Is there any chance that the ABS system stores fault codes without the light being on? But when changing the wss I will clean out the opening as an extra precaution. I was able to get some German-made Bosch sensors for a very reasonable price, so I believe that they should work just fine. Thank you for keeping up and spreading your knowledge. It is much appreciated!

[mattmar1]

one the ABS light is illuminated by the system faulting, the code is stored at that time, should the fault go away, the light will go out, but the code that was set will be held in the ABS memory until it is manually cleared.